In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: The federal government awards $481 million to a diagnostics startup to ramp up COVID-19 testing; Operational risks of owning a public hospital could compound fiscal challenges for counties. Plus: New concerns about CMS data reporting rules. Links to the stories: Cue Health awarded $481M from HHS, DoD to ramp up production of its app-connected COVID-19 rapid diagnostic Public hospitals are compounding COVID-19 budget risks for large urban counties...
Oct 16, 2020•2 min
Within healthcare, virtual reality (VR) applications are currently being used to control pain, decrease anxiety, and reduce stress. New research has demonstrated a strong case for VR use in care both at home and in the hospital. How can this new, effective therapy be scaled to a broader population of patients? John Sharp will answer just that question as he speaks with Dr. Brennan Spiegel, Director of Health Services Research at Cedars-Sinai & Author of the upcoming book: How Virtual Therape...
Oct 15, 2020•17 min
With its recent launch of the Digital Health Center for Excellence, the FDA has shown a new spotlight on its ongoing work of changing how the regulation of digital health and digital therapeutics works, to better match the realities of modern technology. But is the organization taking the right steps for the right reasons? Or is it heading into dangerous territory for developers and their end users — the patients? Host Jonah Comstock and MobiHealthNews Associate Editor Dave Muoio discuss this pi...
Oct 09, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 36
In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Hospitals must now include flu data along with their COVID-19 data; Mental health tops the list of preferred uses for telehealth. Plus: Clover Health goes public. Links to the stories: HHS will require hospitals to report flu information, in addition to COVID-19 Americans want mental healthcare via telehealth, but data security worries remain Clover Health will join the public market by merging with Social Capital SPAC...
Oct 09, 2020•2 min
The COVID-19 crisis thrust hospital supply chain issues into the national spotlight as we heard about shortages of personal protective equipment almost daily during the early days of the crisis. But the issues that lead to these shortages are only a few of the many challenges that hospital supply chain managers face every day. For this week’s episode, co-host, Rob Havasy is joined by Rich Kucera, Principal of Symmetric Health Solutions and the winner of the 2019 SCAN Health Design Competition to...
Oct 08, 2020•30 min
On a very special episode of HIMSSCast, host Jonah Comstock welcomes HIMSS CEO Hal Wolf to talk about his experiences, HIMSS's experiences, and what he's observed in the industry more broadly in the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Talking points: What HIMSS is all about How COVID has spurred digital transformation in healthcare The Global Consortium for eHealth Interoperability The Global Health Equity Network How HIMSS is working to make sure no one’s left behind What we’ve learned...
Oct 02, 2020•33 min•Season 1Ep. 35
In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Cyberattack hits Universal Health Services, forcing shutdown of user access to IT applications; Anthem reaches $40M settlement in in 2015 cyberattack. Plus: Is the Apple Watch causing unnecessary healthcare utilization? Links to the stories: UHS hospital chain hit with apparent ransomware attack So you've been hit with a ransomware attack. What now? Anthem settles 2015 cybersecurity breach for $39.5 million Apple Watch's abnormal pulse feature dr...
Oct 02, 2020•2 min
This week's episode will feature co-host Indu Subaiya, President of Catalyst @ Health 2.0 and Senior Advisor to HIMSS speaking with Farzad Mostashari, Co-founder and CEO of Aledade and Former Head of the Office of the National Coordinator. Dr. Farzad Mostashari will provide an expert perspective on what a 21st century public health system could look like including real-time disease surveillance, targeted prevention and the smart allocation of resources. He will discuss how healthcare providers c...
Sep 30, 2020•20 min
In this inaugural episode, Kerry Amato kicks off the Accelerate Health Podcast with Omkar Kulkarni, Chief Innovation Officer for Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Managing Director for KidsX, a new pediatric health accelerator. KidsX is a global ecosystem of pediatric innovators, anchored by a consortium of 30 children’s hospitals from North America, Europe and Australia motivated to partner with early stage digital health companies to transform pediatric care. Omkar Kulkarni will discuss how ...
Sep 29, 2020•29 min
In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsurg’s absence on the Supreme Court throws the future of the ACA into question; Femtech companies bemoan advertising difficulties on social media. Plus: the emergence of 'social informatics'. Links to the stories: Death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg could have ramifications for Affordable Care Act Femtech players call out Facebook for rejecting women's health ads A new health IT discipline: Social informatics ...
Sep 25, 2020•2 min
It's a bit of a pot pourri this week as the MobiHealthNews team shares some of what they've heard at a variety of (virtual, of course) industry events. First host Jonah Comstock recaps what Apple announced at its product launch event last week, then Associate Editors Dave Muoio and Mallory Hackett discuss the Digital Therapeutics East event. Finally Managing Editor Laura Lovett and Jonah talk about the Rock Health Summit. And if you haven't gotten enough of events yet, we've got one of our own c...
Sep 25, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Healthcare IT News Executive Editor Mike Miliard and Healthcare Finance News Managing Editor Susan Morse welcome guest Jeff Coughlin, senior director of federal and state affairs at HIMSS to revisit our discussion of the groundbreaking information blocking rules that dropped back in February — and go into affect November 5th. Talking points: - What the rules do and how the ONC and CMS rules differ - Why the rules are important - How providers and payers have responded since the rules dropped - H...
Sep 18, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 33
In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Apple partners with VA to offer telehealth services for veterans – and announces new health-tracking functionality for its next Apple Watch. Plus: Hospital CEO changeover rates are dropping after a five-year hold. Links to the stories: Here's what primary care clinicians say they need to effectively implement telehealth VA working with Apple to broaden telehealth access for veterans Apple adds SpO2 & V02 Max to Apple Watch Series 6, and launc...
Sep 18, 2020•2 min
In this episode of Top Stories: Former CEO of Zocdoc files a lawsuit alleging that executives forced him out of the company in 2015; Telehealth likely represents the biggest threat to healthcare cybersecurity. Links to the stories: Ousted Zocdoc CEO accuses fellow cofounders and CFO of foul play in new lawsuit Telehealth is biggest threat to healthcare cybersecurity, says report Personal information of 348,000 people potentially exposed in NorthShore data breach Full coverage: HIMSS & Health...
Sep 11, 2020•2 min
AmWell and GoodRx seem to be ushering in a second wave of digital health IPOs. Why is this happening now? Who's next? With Healthbox President and HIMSS EVP Neil Patel as their guest, the MobiHealthTeam (host Jonah Comstock, Managing Editor Laura Lovett, and Associate Editor Mallory Hackett) dive into these questions and more. Plus, in the second half of the show, they discuss Amazon Halo, the tech giant's long-awaited entry into the wearable space. Articles mentioned in this episode: Amwell ink...
Sep 11, 2020•41 min•Season 1Ep. 32
In this episode of Top Stories: California has passed the nation’s first law mandating a 45-day supply of PPE; Digital health company GoodRX has filed to go public after a strong financial showing in 2020. Plus: The top technical challenge of the pandemic. Links to the stories: California passes nation's first bill requiring hospitals to keep a 45-day supply of PPE GoodRx files to go public, revealing jumps in year-over-year revenue growth Healthcare execs say telehealth is their No. 1 pandemic ...
Sep 04, 2020•2 min
Earlier this week, an HHS working session met to discuss a long-simmering topic in American health policy: the need for a universal patient identification strategy. In this episode of HIMSSCast, host Jonah Comstock and Senior Editor Kat Jercich welcome HIMSS VP of Government Relations Tom Leary and Government Relations Senior Manager David Gray to the podcast to discuss the events of the working session, the history and current state of patient identification in the United States, and why this t...
Sep 04, 2020•38 min•Season 1Ep. 31
In this episode of Top Stories: VA healthcare is slated for modernization with a new scheduling platform; Nursing homes are now required to test staff for COVID-19. Plus: AmWell going public with $100 million of Google's money. Links to the stories: First component of VA EHR modernization goes live in Ohio Nursing homes are now required to test staff for COVID-19 Amwell inks deal with Google Cloud and files to go public Check out a video version of this episode here...
Aug 28, 2020•2 min
Host Jonah Comstock convenes a panel of HIMSS Media editors — HITN Senior Editor Kat Jercich, MobiHealthNews Associate Editor Dave Muoio and HFN Associate Editor Jeff Lagasse — to discuss recent delivery slowdowns at the post office and how they have and haven't affected healthcare stakeholders, including startups and patients. The team also looks into the broader trend of politicization of traditionally apolitical government agencies and how that could affect public faith in COVID-19 treatments...
Aug 28, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 30
In this episode of Top Stories: Larger hospital systems such as AdventHealth are feeling the COVID-19 pinch; ICD-10 codes may not effectively capture patients with cough and fever. Plus: How postal service delays are affecting the healthcare sector. Links to the stories: AdventHealth laments $260 million in losses since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic Dr. Anthony Fauci 'cautiously optimistic' that a vaccine will be available in 2020 or 2021 ICD-10 codes don't accurately capture COVID-19 sympt...
Aug 21, 2020•2 min
In a wide-ranging discussion, Mathematica Senior Fellow Dr. Diane Rittenhouse joins host Jonah Comstock and Healthcare IT News Senior Editor Kat Jercich to talk about the unique impact of COVID-19 on primary care, how digital tools like telehealth can help, and how primary care providers can move forward in this new world. We talk about why primary care is important and how technology can only go so far in what is fundamentally a very human field. This episode is brought to you by AmWell. Furthe...
Aug 21, 2020•39 min•Season 1Ep. 29
In this episode of Top Stories: Health Information Exchanges can expect a monetary boost from the ONC; M&A activity is down precipitously Plus: Medtronic's latest acquisition. Links to the stories: ONC to offer new funding for state and local HIE innovation At ONC Tech Forum, Rucker touts value of HIEs in COVID-19 response Healthcare M&A transactions see large decline from Q1 to Q2 Medtronic plans to buy connected insulin pen startup Companion Medical...
Aug 14, 2020•2 min
Kistein Monkhouse, CEO and cofounder of Patient Orator, and Dr. Tamir Wolf, CEO and cofounder of Theator, join host Jonah Comstock and MobiHealthNews Managing Editor Laura Lovett to discuss disparate health outcomes for racial minority groups, how their startups are looking to address these inequities, and what else those in the healthcare industry can do to help. More about this episode: Rock Health survey on startup diversity HIMSS Global Health Equity Network Patient Orator Theator Enabling P...
Aug 14, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 28
The MobiHealthNews team — host Jonah Comstock, Managing Editor Laura Lovett and Associate Editor Dave Muoio — sit down to unpack the major shakeup that hit the digital health markets this week when telemedicine giant Teladoc announced its plan to merge with chronic condition management success story Livongo. We talk details, motivations, and implications of this digital health mega-company in the making. More about this episode: Teladoc Health absorbs chronic care company Livongo in $18.5B merge...
Aug 07, 2020•22 min•Season 1Ep. 27
In this episode of Top Stories: Telehealth companies propose $18B merger; Trump issues executive order to make telehealth permanent. Plus: dispatches from the Taskforce of Telehealth Policy’s virtual town hall. Links to the stories: Teladoc Health absorbs chronic care company Livongo in $18.5B merger Online prescription discount platform GoodRx reported to be filing for IPO Telehealth to become permanent under Trump executive order CMS proposes telehealth changes under Trump executive order Task...
Aug 07, 2020•2 min
On Monday, President Trump dropped a surprise executive order making regulatory allowances for telehealth permanent. But what exactly does that mean? And how much authority does Trump have to make his pronouncement a reality? HIMSS Media editors Jonah Comstock, Mike Miliard, Susan Morse, and Kat Jercich answer these questions and more in this breaking news edition of HIMSSCast. Mentioned in this episode: Telehealth to become permanent under Trump executive order CMS proposes telehealth changes u...
Aug 05, 2020•23 min•Season 1Ep. 26
In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Ro and Hims would both be valued at more than $1 billion if the latter completes its sale to an unknown acquisition company, while the healthcare industry says more funds are needed to make up for lost revenue due to the pandemic. Links to the stories: Ro receives $200 million in funding and is now valued at $1.5 billion Hims eyes deal to go public and expands its remote mental health services Doctors and hospitals are asking for $100 billion in ...
Jul 31, 2020•2 min
Healthcare IT News Executive Editor Mike Miliard and host Jonah Comstock chat about some recent trends in cybersecurity including telehealth security, securing remote patient monitoring, ramped up ransomware attacks, and the danger of a coming "cyberpandemic" as organizations rapidly adopt new technologies like cloud hosting. Referenced in this episode: The Cybersecurity Implications of Telehealth: Safeguarding the New Normal of Virtual Care (Editorial Webinar) Babylon Health admits GP at Hand a...
Jul 30, 2020•17 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Megan Zweig and Sean Day, chief operating officer and consultant respectively at Rock Health, join host Jonah Comstock for a discussion of digital health funding, M&A, and IPOs in the first six months of 2020. Per Rock Health's recent report on the subject, US digital health companies pulled in $5.4 billion so far this year, in spite of (or, perhaps, because of) a global pandemic that has sparked a recession in the broader economy. Listen in for a dive into the details of those numbers and s...
Jul 22, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Agility and innovation were always the name of the game for health tech startups, but the past few months of COVID-19 have shifted the demands of providers, payers and consumers in a way few could have predicted. Many entrepreneurial teams are fighting the clock to review or revamp their products or commercialization strategies – but what are their options, and what should they be keeping in mind when rewriting the rules of their startups? In this episode of the HIMSSCast, Dr. Roxie Mooney, CEO ...
Jul 17, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 23
